With Canon 50 f1.4, you almost have to step it down to f2.8 to get sharp photos - that would kill the funs buying a f1.4 lens and shoot it at f2.8

I rather shoot with my 24-70 II @ f2.8

Mine is pretty usable at 1.4Not softer than the 50L at 1.4Seems like i got a pretty good one.

It does shift focus when stopping down. My 50L also did.

There was no reason to keep the expensive L (ok, more and round blades. But u cant have everything)

I even had a 50 1.8 II which was really great wide open (sharpness. Contrast could be better)

SORRY 4 OT

I owned a 50 1.8 ii also, I liked it a lot, but the bokeh was not as smooth as the Voigtlander. Sharpness not remotely as high, either...but overall it's certainly a fine lens for the money (~$100). The smoothest bokeh via a 50mm lens is probably the 50 f/1.2L.

Call me crazy, but I bought the 40mm f/2.8 pancake with my 6D, and I like it overall better than the 50 f/1.8. It is sharper in the corners at f/2.8, has a lot less CA (basically none...the 50 1.8 had a lot of longitudinal CA...the Voigtlander also has a bit of that at wider than f/2.5 or so aperture...but very little lateral CA). The color via the 40 pancake is cooler than I like (typical of many Canon lenses though). But the contrast, sharpness...along with the ability to take in a wider field of view at 40mm than 50mm...I really like that. The 50 1.8 had a nice warm color, but was still kind of odd...emphasized magentas and purples a bit much (sort of like the colors via the 85 1.2L in my opinion...not bad, just not my preference). The Voigtlander seems more neutral, but may emphasize oranges and reds slightly, which I prefer. (The typical "Sigma color" emphasizes oranges and yellows...which can also look nice). Greens and blues look very vivid and differentiated through the Voigtlander, also. And as I've said before, the best color from a lens I've ever seen, was via the 200 f/2L. I hope Canon can someday make a sensor capable of drinking in more of that! Of course DXO will just claim whatever Nikon sensor at that time, is 10x better...haha.

My new Sigma seems to work better than the one I returned earlier. The AF is a bit faster and quite accurate most of the time. It's still not as fast as canon but fast enough. It hunts a lot less than the one before too. So far I'm happy but will continue to have fun with it while doing more testing. The canon L is probably going into a return box soon.

looks like I might want to try it again , thanks for your honest posts on this lens vs the Canon.

My new Sigma seems to work better than the one I returned earlier. The AF is a bit faster and quite accurate most of the time. It's still not as fast as canon but fast enough. It hunts a lot less than the one before too. So far I'm happy but will continue to have fun with it while doing more testing. The canon L is probably going into a return box soon.

looks like I might want to try it again , thanks for your honest posts on this lens vs the Canon.

You're welcome. I'm glad I bought it from buydig.com. Returns are usually trouble free. I'm very happy with this copy after weeks of use.

My new Sigma seems to work better than the one I returned earlier. The AF is a bit faster and quite accurate most of the time. It's still not as fast as canon but fast enough. It hunts a lot less than the one before too. So far I'm happy but will continue to have fun with it while doing more testing. The canon L is probably going into a return box soon.

looks like I might want to try it again , thanks for your honest posts on this lens vs the Canon.

You're welcome. I'm glad I bought it from buydig.com. Returns are usually trouble free. I'm very happy with this copy after weeks of use.

My new Sigma seems to work better than the one I returned earlier. The AF is a bit faster and quite accurate most of the time. It's still not as fast as canon but fast enough. It hunts a lot less than the one before too. So far I'm happy but will continue to have fun with it while doing more testing. The canon L is probably going into a return box soon.

looks like I might want to try it again , thanks for your honest posts on this lens vs the Canon.

You're welcome. I'm glad I bought it from buydig.com. Returns are usually trouble free. I'm very happy with this copy after weeks of use.

I presume you had to pay shipping back to them?

It's less than 10 bucks. Small price to pay for good customer service. Really don't mind that at all.

After a month of intense testing, I'm returning the lens with some regret. It's actually pretty amazing and fits my budget. It's sharp. The biggest problem I have is AF. It seems to require different amount of MA under different conditions. I thought I was crazy but I found reviews that describe the same behavior. I thought about user error but I haven't experienced the same with the much cheaper canon 50 1.4. I agonized over it and kept testing. As the return window was closing I had to make a decision.

I am getting the Canon 35L. I don't know if it would serve me better. Everybody says the Sigma outperforms the old Canon so I don't keep my hopes too high.

I took quite a few pictures I love with the Sigma. I really wanted to love it but I can't deal with unreliable and slow AF.

The sigma deserves a second chance. Perhaps I'll get a better copy. But I'm gonna try the Canon first.

Thank you for this advice. I was pondering on several Sigma lenses. Did you go to the shop to ask a replacement lens, maybe it was a lemon? I was thinking about a 20 1.8 sometime later down the road for my 5DIII. But well, I might put that off... In addition to my 16-35 2.8 USM II to get that stop of more aperture in contrast to it but at a wider angle than my trusty 50 1.4

I'm a first time sigma customer. Even though I had to go through two copies before getting a good one I still consider it worthwhile. It really depends on your luck. Many people are happy with their first copy. Just make sure you buy from a good retailer.